instructional leadership for quality learning

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2008 36: 471Educational Management Administration & LeadershipNkobi Owen Pansiri

Primary School Management Development Project in BotswanaInstructional Leadership for Quality Learning : An Assessment of the Impact of the

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471

Instructional Leadership for Quality LearningAn Assessment of the Impact of the Primary SchoolManagement Development Project in Botswana

Nkobi Owen Pansiri

A B S T R A C T

A descriptive study using questionnaires was conducted in 2004 to assess theeffectiveness of instructional leadership displayed by primary school managementteams following the implementation of the Primary School Management Project inBotswana. Leadership skills, Coordination of instructional activities, management ofcurriculum and quality of learners were key variables that guided the study.Respondents were 240 primary school teachers including school heads and 575learners. Data were analyzed descriptively through the use of the Statistical Package forSocial Sciences (SPSS) program using frequencies and percentages. The results revealschool management teams’ lack of interpersonal skills necessary for classroomsupervision, inability to mobilize parents to participate in school instructionalimprovement activities, teachers’ unauthorized use of corporal punishment and lack ofcreativeness and innovativeness for management of curriculum change. Regardingquality of learning, the study identifies learners’ inability and lack of freedom for self-expression and inadequate acquisition of basic literacy skill at varying degrees betweenrural and urban schools.

K E Y W O R D S instructional leadership, instructional supervision, pedagogical leadership,school improvement, transformational leadership

Introduction

Botswana is a sovereign state in Southern Africa that became independent fromthe British Government in 1966. Since then it has committed itself to improv-ing its education system in a variety of ways including policy change. Thecountry’s Presidential Commission on Education of 1993 led to the promulga-tion of the Revised National Policy on Education of 1994 (RNPE). The Policyemphasizes that:

The heads as the instructional leaders, together with the deputy and seniorteachers, should take major responsibility for in-service training of teacherswithin their schools, through regular observations of teachers and organizational

Educational Management Administration & LeadershipISSN 1741-1432 DOI: 10.1177/1741143208095789

SAGE Publications (London, Los Angeles, New Delhi and Singapore)Copyright © 2008 BELMAS Vol 36(4) 471–494; 095789

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workshops, to foster communication between teachers on professional matters andto address weaknesses. (Republic of Botswana, 1994: 47)

This position recognizes the fundamental role that school leadership plays inensuring the quality of continued school based teacher development activities.It mandates a school head to engage all those who are in school managementpositions to actively participate in improving teacher competencies forenhanced learner performances. The policy proclamation came at a time whenthe Ministry of Education (MoE) was working on the re-organization of primaryschool staffing. The new arrangements introduced the concept of a schoolmanagement team (SMT). A ‘scheme of service’ was introduced for primaryschool teachers, which expanded the school management structure from schoolhead, deputy and senior teacher posts to school head, deputy, heads of depart-ment, teacher advisors grade 1 and senior teachers grade 1 and 2 posts ofresponsibilities (Republic of Botswana—TSM—Directive no 3 of 1994). Thescheme of service also supported the 1994 policy, which further required that‘the Ministry of Education should develop guidelines for head teachers, clearlydefining their roles both as instructional leaders and administrators of schools’(Republic of Botswana, 1994: 19–20). The new development meant that a smallschool would have at least three posts in the management structure while largeprimary school would be run through 13 posts of responsibility (Republic ofBotswana, 1996).

The implementation of the RNPE with its clear focus on improving thequality of primary school leadership re-activated the commitment of govern-ment towards improving the quality of education. In terms of the interpretationof the policy, the school management teams were viewed as critical forces thatneeded professional skills to foster change and quality in schools. Conse-quently, the MoE through the department of Teacher Training and Develop-ment (TT&D) with the support of the UK Department for InternationalDevelopment (DfID) engaged a team of three consultants to run a PrimarySchool Management Development Project (PSMDP) in July 1999. The teamspearheaded the training of the SMTs. The consultancy was coordinated fromTT&D. To facilitate the implementation of the project, another two-personconsultancy was put in place in the same year, to carry out a baseline surveyto inform the project on the state of management in primary schools inBotswana (Republic of Botswana—MoE Report, 2000). The overall goal of thePSMDP was ‘to improve the quality of primary education in Botswana byproviding effective management training and support for school managementteam’ (Republic of Botswana—MoE Report, 2002: 4).

The baseline survey report (Republic of Botswana—MoE, 2000) highlighted anumber of problems. Some of the problems were that primary school managerswere unable to develop school development plans; weaknesses in teachermanagement which were counterproductive given the desire for improvedclassroom-based learning; lack of induction of teachers; poor interpersonal

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skills among the SMTs and teachers including weak professionalism among theteaching staff; poor communication and consultation techniques used inschools; and poor systems of resource (supplies) management. Pupils’ inter-personal relations were found to be poor and the SMTs did not have a pastoralrole. Parental involvement in school curricula or co-curricula activities wasminimal. Priority areas for management training that can be identified fromthe report include leadership skills, coordination of leadership functions,curriculum management, learner-achievement and learner behaviors.

According to Siduna (2003), the PSMDP was reinforced with the creation of30 new professional advisory positions in MoE for trained personnel to supportSMTs in carrying out the project. Subsequent to this, 30 primary school headswere identified and trained as Primary School Management Advisors (PSMAs).The PSMDP team first developed Training of Trainers (ToTs) materials to trainPSMAs. The project then used the findings from the survey to develop threeManagement Training Units (Management Units 1–3), which were used to trainsenior SMTs (heads, deputy and heads of department) for quality school leader-ship. A cascade model was adopted; so that when the SMTs were trained theywould in turn run school-based training to train senior teachers/teacheradvisors and other teachers in areas of curriculum leadership and implemen-tation respectively. The PSMDP technical team took all PSMAs through ToTs’series of workshops. They were also introduced to Management Units 1–3.PSMAs then took all SMTs through all the management units. By the end of theproject it was reported that the area of instructional leadership was notadequately treated in the management units and in training sessions (Siduna,2003). However, no formal evaluation was made to assess the impact of theproject. I therefore conducted this study in 2004 to investigate how instruc-tional leadership was reflecting in schools after the project had concluded in2002. The MoE supported the study by producing copies of the questionnaires,distributing them to schools and ensuring their administration.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study was to assess the status of the instructional leader-ship in primary schools in Botswana since the launching of the PSMDP. Thestudy covered the following objectives:

(1) to determine the level of instructional leadership skills displayed by theSMTs;

(2) to assess the level of coordination of instructional activities in schools;(3) to assess how schools perceive the status of management of curriculum

matters including resource;(4) to assess how schools perceive the current level of instructional leader-

ship influence on learner achievement and leaner behavior.

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The results of the study could be used by the MoE to develop anotherManagement Unit Training Module for primary school SMTs on ‘instructionalleadership’. The study could also assist schools especially SMTs to identify theirexpected level of performance as instructional leaders and help them to re-focus their leadership approaches for school improvement. The study wasexpected to also raise questions for further research among educators,educationists and researchers in education.

Literature Review

Instructional leadership as a concept needs to be understood in the context ofeducation management. Two key words are ‘leadership’ and ‘instruction’. Leader-ship is defined as a process that involves interaction between one who leads andthose that are led (Horner, 1997; Pfeiffer and Dunlap, 1982; Reichwald et al.,2004). Most critical to this definition, is the fact that a leader applies more of themotivational strategies to energize the interest and support of the group orfollowers towards action. In this context Mastrangelo et al. (2004) said thatleadership is to do with creating an environment in which people are motivatedto produce and move to the direction of the leader. Mastrangelo et al. (2004: 438)introduced the concept of professional leadership, in which they suggest that itinvolves ‘providing direction, process, and coordination to the members of anorganization for the purpose of altering the organizational goals’. The key wordsin this definition are ‘direction’, ‘processes and ‘coordination’. These three wordssuggest that leadership encompasses setting the organizational vision andmission, establishing systems to attain the organizational goals and objectives,organizing and collaboratively marshalling the personnel and other resources foroperations and implementation. In a school set up, communication remains acritical factor in creating relationships between a leader and his/her group. Inwhatever condition, good leadership is associated with effective communicationskills. In contemporary discussion on the concept of leadership, a construct oftransformational approach to leadership emerges. In this view, leadership isassociated with positive influence on the group’s effort and satisfaction and thatit is necessary to the ‘gaining of confidence and coping with stress among teams’(Neumann [1992] in Pounder, 2002: 8). Leadership involves the ability to commu-nicate the vision of the school as well as focusing the effort of the group towardsachieving the collaboratively set vision. The transformational approach toleadership encourages innovation, creativity and teamwork while at the sametime it stimulates team members to maximize their full potentials. Against thiscontext, growing school reforms on school improvement consistently encouragetransformational leadership in school management. In addition to professionalleadership, Mastrangelo et al. (2004) suggest that personal behaviors such asexpertise, trust, caring, sharing and morals are essential attributes in perform-ing responsibilities of professional leadership. The SMTs therefore would berequired to demonstrate these behaviors in their daily operation.


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The word instruction fits well in the activities of a school situation. It definesinteraction among the staff, between the staff and learners, among the learnersand between the school and its community. Instruction also means interactionbetween teachers and curriculum materials towards developing a qualitylearner in a learning environment. According to Harris et al. (1985: 6) ‘activi-ties of the staff are primarily instructional’ and that the ‘unique activity of theschool is instructional’. The daily and routine activities of a school are basicallyteaching and learning including leading a class into learning purposes. Further,Harris et al. (1985: 8) define instruction as:

. . . any and all activity carried on within an organized context that directly relatesto the learning processes that is occurring or being projected, whether it relatesdirectly to the student or adult, materials, facilities, schedules and so on.

This makes it clear that a school is the focal point where interactions of allits facets that facilitate learning (be it physical or human resources) constituteactivities that make up instruction. One may safely conclude that the qualityof instruction should influence the quality of the learning outcomes.

Having explored the two concepts (Leadership and Instruction), one has toconnect the two to understand instructional leadership. Glickman (1985) inSeifert and Vornberg (2002: 166) describe instructional leadership as ‘workingdirectly with teachers, group improvement, professional development, curricu-lum improvement and action research implementation’. In this view instruc-tional leadership is more of a coordinating function. One sees the role of aschool head as that of a chief coordinator of the school functions and activities.The idea is further clarified by Glickman (1992) in McEwan (1998: 103) saying,‘the principal of successful school is not the instructional leader but the co-ordinator of teachers as instructional leaders’. More often teachers would notrefer to themselves as leaders but instead expect the school managementmembers to be attached that value or responsibility. Glickman et al. (2001)argue that instructional leadership plays a pivotal role for instructionalimprovement. It endeavors to make teachers effective instructional leaders forinstructional improvement. They define instructional improvement as:

. . . helping teachers acquire teaching strategies consistent with their generalteaching styles that increase the capabilities of students to make wise decisions invarying contexts (with regard to peers, adults, academics, and life). (Glickman etal., 2001: 105)

In essence teachers are indeed instructional leaders and have a significantresponsibility to provide quality instruction. They have to be effective commu-nicators if they are to be good leaders of their own classes. Instructional leader-ship therefore is that art which works to develop teachers’ competencies andbuild their confidence for effective teaching. Sergiovanni (1987) in Blasé andBlasé (1998) says that instructional leaders are pedagogical leaders and have aresponsibility to build a learning community. In recognition of this position,


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the role of the head would, however, be to ensure teachers’ involvement in acontinuous cycle of discussing, implementing, planning and reviewing curric-ula and instruction leading to improved learner-achievement (see Blasé andBlasé, 1998; Glickman et al., 2001; Harris et al., 1985; McEwan, 1998).

From the literature reviewed one can explain elements of instructionalleadership diagrammatically, in a tripartite function as per Figure 1 with alearner as the central focus.

The school leadership group consisting of the school management team(heads, deputy, HoD and senior teachers or teacher advisors) is the coordina-tor of all the school instructional activities. The population of the children in aprimary school is used to determine the school management structure. Forexample the biggest primary school (1000+ children) has 13 members in theSMT whereas the smallest (less than 51 children) has three members in theSMT (Republic of Botswana—TSM—Establishment Register, 1996). Despite thesize of a school, SMT members need certain leadership skills, attitudes andknowledge in order to function more professionally, effectively and to lead aschool successfully. Conversely, classroom instructional management is dutyfor all teachers. Teachers therefore, need good coordination and regular trainingso that they continuously renew their skills, attitudes and acquire new knowl-edge to become effective classroom practitioners. Most importantly, activitiesof instructional leadership include procurement, management and ensuringeffective utilization of curriculum materials and other resources that facilitatelearning. Effective management and coordination of these resources are criticalfor effective learning. This function involves selection, procurement, distri-bution/allocation, usage and proper care of curriculum and or instructionalmaterials. When these three levels interconnect, they produce a learner withthe desired attributes by which the quality of education is measured. In thisview, instructional leadership is described as the effective professional inter-actions in a school where the school management and staff work together withan appropriate curriculum for the purpose of improving student learning.Figure 1 emphasizes the moral purpose of the function of instructional leader-ship towards the learner. Contemporary views towards school leadership favor


476

School leadership

Curriculum materials Teaching staff and parents

Learner

Figure 1 The moral purpose of instructional leadership

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a shift from instructional leadership to transformational and pedagogical leader-ship (Webb, 2005). The argument is that, while instructional leadership is astrategy with which SMTs pursue the agenda of national policy and programthrough vision and missions statements, pedagogical leadership is connotes apractical strategy where SMTs work with teachers in their classrooms to makesure learner achievement and quality of learning is enhanced. In this context,teacher-leadership and learner-achievement were key purposes underpinningthe PSMDP as an innovation for school improvement. However, Webb (2005)argues for the combination of instructional and pedagogical leadership if theagenda of school improvement is to be achieved holistically. It is against thisunderstanding that a tripartite approach illustrated by Figure 1 is drawn.

Parental involvement is critical in the activities of an instructional leader.Research has established that parental involvement in children’s educationleads to effective teaching and learning. Parental involvement has been foundto be a weapon towards improving student’s attainment and parents’ under-standing of schools and education (Dunne, 2004). However, there are severalindications that low-performing and resourced schools have minimal involve-ment of parents (Hester, 1989; Lam, 2004). It has also been established thatthere are a lot of barriers that prevent parents from participating in schoolactivities. Moore (1991) reports barriers such as distance between teacher andparent, lack of adequate teacher training, while Liontos (1992) further sees thebarriers as teachers’ perceptions of parents, passive role of parents, culturaldifferences between teacher and parents. All these authors (Hester, 1989; Lam,2004; Liontos, 1992; Moore, 1991) maintain that limited skills and knowledgeand restricted opportunities for a meaningful exchange of ideas betweenparents and their teachers is also a barrier towards parental involvement inschool activities.

Instructional leadership for school improvement should essentially accom-modate collaborative processes of teacher leaders-leadership, strategies ofparental mobilization and involvement and effective management of resources.In the final analysis, learner-achievement should be raised and their quality oflearning enhanced particularly when transformational and pedagogicalprinciples of leadership are embedded in instructional leadership.

Methodology

The study was descriptive in approach and used a quantitative researchmethodology. This approach was chosen because of its manageability, especi-ally its efficiency in the use of time. Questionnaires were used to collect datafrom schools. Questionnaires were developed from four sub-themes namelyleadership skills, coordination of leadership functions, curriculum manage-ment, and quality of learners. These were the key components of the PSMDP,which were meant to improve instructional leadership and eventually helpimproving leaner achievement.


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The Botswana primary education is managed through six regions. The studywas carried out in the South Central Region. The region is the biggest ingeographical area and contains the largest number of primary schools in thecountry as well the highest number of both teachers and learners. The regionwas selected because it also has very remote, remote, peri-urban and urbanlocations, and so contains examples of all the different areas in the country.The study involved six schools from each of the above-mentioned categories.This is consistent with the idea that researchers in ‘effective schools’ shouldrecognize differences between schools various attributes such as location, socio-economic status and learner ethnicity.

Respondents in the study were primary school management teammembers, teachers and learners in standard 5–7 classes. Twenty-four govern-ment primary schools were selected from the region that had a total of 170government primary schools, which is 41 percent of the population of theprimary school in Botswana. The study was limited to government primaryschools because this is where the PSMDP focuses. The schools were selectedthrough the convenience sampling methods on the basis of the researcher’sknowledge of the region. At each school, probability sampling methods ofcluster and simple random (Bryman, 2001; Cohen and Manion, 1994; Seaman,1997) were utilized to select learners (pupils) and staff (teachers includingschool heads).

Two sets of attitudinal questionnaires, one for staff and the other for learnerswere used for data collection. The questionnaires were in the Likert-scale formand they included simple demographic data section for the target group. Theone for the staff had four sections. Section one focused on instructional leader-ship skills. Section two addressed the SMTs coordinating functions. Sectionthree dealt with issues related to curriculum management. The last sectionsought information on how the staff perceived the quality of their learner uponcompleting Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). Under each section arespondent was asked to suggest strategies that they felt could be used toimprove standards in schools. The learners’ questionnaires had only onesection that assessed their general perception of their school. The MoE staffthrough the office that coordinates PSMDP participated in sampling, data collec-tion by handling the process of distributing and collection of instruments to andfrom schools. The MoE also circulated communication to schools to clarify theissues of anonymity and confidentiality so as to gain access and trust fromrespondents and learners.

Data were analyzed using the SPSS program to allow easy description fromtables, graphs and charts on frequencies. The tables and charts were then usedto interpret and discuss the findings. Comments and suggestions from teacherswere clustered according to variables used such as location of schools. Thecomments were used in the discussion to illustrate their perceptions.


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Results

This section discusses findings and analysis of teachers’ and learners’ percep-tions as per their responses to the questionnaires and comments that teacherswrote justifying their views. The discussion first explores the demographic datato create an understanding of the respondents’ variability. The findings anddiscussion follow the four sub-themes namely, leadership skills, coordination ofleadership functions, curriculum management, and quality of learners. Anadditional subsection on learners’ perceptions of their school leadership is alsoincluded. This section is considered essential given the current trends of movingfrom instructional leadership to transformational and pedagogical leadership.

Demographic Data

The demographic data presents the selected characteristics of the participantsin the study. Participants in the study were teachers including school heads andthis group is referred to in this study as respondents. The selected variables forteachers include location of school, qualification, age and experience inteaching as per Figures 2 to 5. Teachers responded to the four research ques-tions. Pupils were also involved and they are referred to as learners. For them,only two variables were used as per Figures 6 and 7. These are locations ofschools and standards/classes that they were in. Learners’ questionnairefocused only on the one sub-theme or the fourth research question, whichassessed their perception of the schools’ level of instructional leadershipinfluence on their learning.

According to Figure 2, 240 teachers participated in the study. This populationis representative of all the socio-economic locations of the region. The urbanareas involved 33 percent, peri-urban covered 30 percent and that remotestschools included 28 percent. The representation is considered positive enoughto provide a reasonable and acceptable balanced picture of teachers’ perceptionin the education region.

As per Figure 3, primary school teaching in Botswana was predominantlymade up of teachers trained at certificate (Cert) level of qualification (65percent). Consequently, most of the members of the SMTs were teachers whohad trained more than eight years ago at a time when the primary teachingqualifications were Primary Teachers Certificate (PTC) or Primary HighTeaching Certificate (PH) or Primary Lower Teaching Certificate (PL) orElementary Teaching Certificate (ETC). These teachers would not havereceived any formal or college-based leadership training during their pre-service program. Any leadership training they received would have been on-the-job through in-service workshops. Diploma (Dip), degree and mastersqualifications are fairly new programs for primary school teachers that wereintroduced in the mid-1980s through a collaborative initiative between the MoEand the University of Botswana.


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According to Figure 4, a middle-aged group of teachers dominated theprimary education teaching profession. The majority (44 percent) of therespondents were between 31 to 40 years old. One can safely conclude thatthese are the teachers who were in most of the leadership positions and theyhad a long way to go because the teachers’ retirement age is 65 years (Republicof Botswana, 1977). It is a category that could not be overlooked in terms oftraining for future school leadership.

Figure 5 expresses the teaching experiences of the respondents. The majority(41 percent) had more than 16 years of teaching experience in the field and 22


480

Figure 2 Teachers by school location

Figure 3 Teachers by qualification

Qualification

0

50

100

150

Cert

64.73%(156)

Dip

Nu

mb

er

26.97%(65)

Degree

7.47%(18)

Masters

0.83%(2)

20

0

40

60

80

Remotest

28.33%(68)

Remote

8.75%(21)

Peri-urban

30.0%(72)

Urban

32.92%(79)

Location

Nu

mb

er

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percent had between 11 and 15 years experience. These groups included mostof those who were holding posts of responsibility, most of whom did not haveformal school leadership training. Usually people on leadership positions wouldhave developed a culture of running their organization. So change or adaptingto new innovations may not be that easy but possible.

The study involved 575 learners and these were also selected from the foursocio-economic environments as per Figure 6, with the majority (43 percent)from remotest area schools. This balances well since the urban and peri-urban present closely similar socio-economic factors. Some learners who


481

Figure 4 Teachers by age

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Age

Nu

mb

er

Below 30

18.0%(45)

31–40

44.0%(110)

41+

38.0%(95)

Figure 5 Teachers by teaching experience (years)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Nu

mb

er

23.29%(58)

12.45%(31)

22.89%(57)

41.37%(103)

Teaching experience

16+11–156–10Below 6

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lived in urban areas went to schools that were located in peri-urban and viceversa.

As presented on Figure 7, the study involved learners from standard five tostandard seven classes. These were selected on the understanding that theycould read a questionnaire and could independently express their opinion. Itturned out that most (40 percent) of them were the standard six learners,followed by those in at standard seven (34 percent) and about to completeprimary education. This was also a good representation of the learners inprimary school system in the region.


482

Figure 6 Learners by school location

0

50

100

150

200

250

Nu

mb

er

42.96%(247)

15.83%(91)

25.91%(149)

15.3%(88)

Location

UrbanPeri-urbanRemoteRemotest

Figure 7 Learners by standard

0

50

100

150

200

250

Nu

mb

er

26.34%(152)

39.51%(228) 34.14%

(197)

Standard

STD5 STD6 STD7

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Leadership Skills

The key skills tested under this section are interpersonal behavior for humanrelations and cooperation, innovativeness and creativity, conflict managementand delegation. These are considered very essential components in teacher-leadership. The PSMDP paid significant attention on training the SMTs on theseskills through their three units (Siduna, 2003).

The study revealed that 70 percent of the teachers indicated that the SMTspraised their teachers for the good work that they were doing for their schools.This is an indication that members of the SMTs maintained a cordial relation-ship with their teachers. They (76 percent) also reported that SMTs listened tothem and that they were accessible and approachable. The majority (77percent) reported that they trusted their supervisors. Further, 81 percent of theteachers indicated that they were given the opportunity to suggest agenda itemsfor curriculum meetings and to also chair school such meetings. These resultssuggest that SMTs were displaying good leadership skills.

Cooperation is another essential attribute of effective instructional leader-ship. The study however revealed that 57 percent of the teachers felt thatcooperation among the staff and between staff and parents in the primaryschools was not high. One respondent echoed, ‘SMTs should consult withteachers and parents.’ Another respondent proposed, ‘Headteachers mustcreate good working relationships with every one in the school.’ The teachers’perception of cooperation in schools shows that the SMTs were not skillfulenough to meet the needs of their staff. If improvement of instructional prac-tices is influenced by the level of cooperation that exit in the school, then thisis an aspect of school management where SMTs needed work-based skilltraining. Gordon and Gordon (2001) and Glickman (1992) in McEwan (1998)view school leadership as pivotal for instructional improvement. Data andteachers comments suggests that despite the training that SMTs received in thePSMDP activities, teachers still felt that interpersonal skills for enhancementof teacher-parent cooperation still needed to improve so that SMTs-teachers-parent interaction could contribute towards raising learner achievement.

Harcher and Hyle (1996) found out, teachers needed good teacher-administrator working relationship. The teachers’ comments suggest that theteachers did not feel that they received adequate support and attention fromthe SMTs. Harcher and Hyle (1996: 26) have called for collaborative power ininstructional leadership ‘to balance power inequalities in the school and schoolcommunity’. They suggested that the quality of a school is derived from itsvision, respect, trust and collegiality that bond school members together. Thisis what teachers desired to experience in their schools.

On the issue of teachers’ degree of creativity and innovativeness, 51 percentof the respondents said that the teachers as individuals initiated some inno-vations in their schools. Results also indicated that a significant number (49percent) of the teachers reported that they were not competent enough to


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manage their own classrooms. While the SMTs were expected to function aspedagogical leaders (Blasé and Blasé, 1998; Webb, 2005), this data indicates thata significant number of the teachers felt that they were not innovative enoughin their classroom practices. They needed intellectual stimulation and inspira-tional motivation (Pounder, 2003) so that they could competently and confi-dently face classroom challenges.

Questions of competence in conflict management also arose. While theteachers agreed that the SMTs attended to their differences, 55 percent of theteachers felt that their supervisors were not usually fair in handling teachers’differences and grievances. One respondent commented, ‘Teachers shouldnot be treated like kids.’ Another one commented that, ‘Individual differencesand opinions must be catered for.’ Repeated comments from several respon-dents suggested that the SMTs should be transparent in making decisions thataffect the staff. Some comments also suggested that SMTs were not payingadequate attention to the issues of confidentiality on personal matters thataffected the staff. There were also indications that SMTs were not sensitiveto teachers’ cultural differences. These are indications that some members ofSMTs were still inadequate in communication and conflict managementskills.

The PSMDP considered delegation as one of the critical management func-tions in instructional leadership. Delegation helps to make employees develop,grow and become innovative (Mastrangelo et al., 2004). Data shows that 53percent of the teachers said that their SMTs were not delegating duties andresponsibilities to them fairly. One respondent suggested, ‘All teachers shouldbe given a chance to prove themselves and the teachers who are lagging behindshould be motivated to work hard, motivation should not be biased or go toother teachers while others are not seen.’ Another respondent commented,‘SMTs overload themselves, they should learn to delegate.’ The teachers’ viewssuggest that the concept of delegation is not understood by all members of theSMT despite its importance in contemporary organizational leadership andmanagement.

Coordination of Leadership Functions

This section tested the schools involvement in school development planning,parental involvement and teacher involvement in resource management.These are considered essential elements in effective instructional leadership.

It is argued that SMTs are coordinators of teachers’ activities (McEwan,1998). One tool that is used in the coordination is the school developmentplan (SDP). The results revealed that 77 percent of the teachers viewed theSMTs as coordinating the development of the SDP well. It revealed that 68percent of the teachers felt that SMTs were doing well in coordinating theimplementation of the SDP. Some teachers (62 percent) also indicated thatSMTs reviewed their SDPs regularly with their teachers. On monitoring of the


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implementation of the SDPs, the study revealed that only 55 percent ofthe teachers who said that SMTs coordinated the monitoring and alsoparticipated in the exercise. However, 60 percent of the respondents felt thatSMT evaluated their school activities. The results suggest that SMTs weremore competent in implementing the SPD but weak in monitoring theimplementation.

According to data, most members of the SMTs were not involving parentsinto the schools’ activities. For example, 68 percent of the teachers felt thatparents did not participate in school activities. One respondent commented,‘Our school lacks parental involvement as parents do not meet all teachers.We should all work with them.’ Another respondent emphasized, ‘We shouldwork hand in hand with parents and fully involve them.’ Yet another respon-dent said, ‘Parents should not only be called for PTA meetings, we need themto meet us.’ At least 51 percent of the teachers felt that SMTs did not explainthe school goals to the community. One respondent suggested, ‘SMTs shouldconsult PTA and the community more seriously.’ Another one said, ‘Teachersand parents should meet together to talk about how they can help theirchildren.’ A comment from peri-urban teacher read, ‘SMTs should exposeparents to the school vision and mission.’ Several teachers in remote schoolssuggested that parents should be taught about education so that they couldhelp their children to learn. From the teachers’ comments, a clear distinctionbetween urban and remote/rural schools on the level of parental involvementsurfaced. The views from teachers in rural/remote area are that SMTs do notconsult with parents on matters of school development planning, while thosein urban view the trend differently. The study reveals that parents in urbanschools have a better chance to participate in the school activities while thosein rural/remote have little chance.

On resource materials allocation, 56 percent of the teachers indicate that theSMT did not distribute materials to teachers on time. Some (59 percent) indi-cated that they did not have all the teaching materials that they needed for theirclasses. One respondent commented, ‘Resource books are not enough.’ Onidentification and selection of teaching materials 53 percent of the teachers saidthat the SMTs did not involve them in the school system of supplies procure-ment. Some (53 percent) indicated that teaching materials including textbooksand stationery were not properly managed in their schools. Only 22 percent ofthe teachers felt that teachers had all teaching materials they needed. Onerespondent commented, ‘Teachers should have access to school materials, thatis, use of photocopier and A4 paper and we need classrooms for teaching lowerstandards.’ Another respondent lamented, ‘We must be given chance to selectbooks that we want use in our classes.’ Data and teachers’ comments suggestthat teachers felt that the school resource management systems were not effec-tive. SMTs did not involve their teachers in resource management and indecisions on textbook selection.


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Curriculum Management

Skills on curriculum management involve instructional supervision, classroomvisitation and school-based professional development activities (Blasé andBlasé, 1999; De Grauwe, 2001; Glickman et al., 2001). This section discusseshow these skills are perceived in schools.

Regular classroom visits and praising teachers are critical function in instruc-tional leadership (Blasé and Blasé, 1999; Quinn, 2001) and pedagogical leader-ship (Webb, 2005). The study revealed that 75 percent of the teachers were ofthe view that SMTs planned class visits with them. One respondent suggested,‘Class supervisors should visit us fortnightly and the headteacher should visitus monthly.’ On supervision, 70 percent of the teachers indicated that SMTspraised them for the good teaching they demonstrated. Again 70 percent indi-cated that SMTs provided them with constructive feedback during teachingassessment. Data suggests that the PSMDP has done reasonably well becauseSTMs, at least, carry out classroom supervision quite positively.

As for coaching and demonstration, 71 percent of the teachers indicated thatSMTs neither gave demonstration lessons nor coached their supervisees on howto handle certain topics or lessons. One respondent suggested, ‘SMTs shouldalways demonstrate to us what they want us to do.’ The study revealed furtherthat 60 percent of the respondents felt that SMTs did not train class teachers onhow to manage curriculum change in their classrooms. One respondentproposed, ‘We must be trained on how to teach remedial children.’ On severaltimes respondents suggested that supervisors should provide demonstration oflessons to guide teachers on better methods of handling a class. Teachersexpressed the desire for developmental approach to supervision (Hawkins andShohet, 2003), so that they could be assisted to perform better as classroompractitioners. The teachers’ views are consistent with De Grauwe (2001) thatsupervision should encourage them to be creative and innovative. Most of thecomments suggested that teachers should be allowed to specialize in teachingso that they could concentrate on teaching areas that they were competent at.It comes out evidently clear that, while SMTs visited classrooms under theauspices of instructional supervision, they were unable to provide professionalguidance to their clients (teachers). In their study Blasé and Blasé, (1999: 132)found out that effective instructional leadership involves ‘talking with teachersto promote reflection and promoting professional growth’. Some of the activi-ties that teachers preferred from their supervisors included receiving feedback,getting examples and demonstration and coaching. By the same token the studyconfirms what Blasé and Blasé found about effective instructional leadershipbecause teachers were suggesting that SMTs should use classroom supervisionto help them. Further to this, Mastrangelo et al. (2004) have indicated that aprofessional leader has expertise and competencies that win the confidenceand admiration of the followers. In the teacher’s view, SMTs still lack therequired professional expertise.


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Instructional leadership is also about teachers’ continuous professionalgrowth as recognized by the RNPE. However, the study revealed that 58 percentof the teachers indicated that subject panels were not functioning well in theprimary schools. However, 83 percent indicated that schools ran school-basedworkshops to address the curriculum needs of teachers. The study also revealedthat 73 percent of the teachers felt that they were given the opportunity to facili-tate in school-based workshops. These data is an indication that the PSMDP hasresponded very effectively on developing a culture of school-based continuousprofessional development.

To sum up this discussion, one borrows from Blas Blasé and Blasé (1999) thatinstructional leadership involves integration of the tasks of direct assistance toteachers, for group development and teachers’ growth. In improving leadershipskills, coordination of school management activities, curriculum matter andmanagement of school-based training, Blasé and Blasé (1999: 135) said thatschool leadership would result in ‘increased teacher motivation, self-esteem,efficacy, and reflective behavior such as risk taking, instructional variety, andinnovation/creativity’. Webb (2005) argues for the combination of instructionalleadership, transformational leadership and pedagogical leadership if schoolimprovement is to be realized.

Teachers Perceptions Learner Quality

Instructional leadership essentially aims at improving the teachers’ quality ofclassroom work with an ultimate goal of raising learners’ achievement as wellas improving their attitudes and behavior towards school work and theirpersonal life. With this understanding, the study explored the perceptions ofthe teachers towards the quality of their learners.

The Botswana education curriculum and literacy programs use and empha-size English as official language and Setswana as a national language. With theexception of Setswana subject, all subjects (English, mathematics, socialstudies, science, religious education, agriculture, home economics, music, artand physical education) are taught in English in all schools. Not to overempha-size the importance of English in Botswana, the language plays a vital role inthe economic and communication systems. Given its value and role in thecountry’s economy and in view of the trends of globalization, poor perform-ance in English is one major indicator that the school systems are not respond-ing adequately. Failing English language can be a serious disqualification fromany future learning or active participation in the economy.

At primary education level, the two language subjects are given a lot ofemphasis. The study revealed that 52 percent indicated that over 80 percent oftheir Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) candidates were unable toread and write English. This suggests that the majority of learners transit fromprimary to secondary schools before they develop literacy skills in English.Common comments were raised by most of the respondents that English


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should be taught properly from lower classes. On Setswana language, the studyrevealed that 79 percent of the respondents indicated that over 80 percent ofthe PSLE leavers were able to read and write the language. This suggests thatteachers were better in teaching Setswana than English. A teacher in remoteschool where both English and Setswana are second languages commented,‘Pupils should be given more time to learn English and Setswana since theymeet these subjects at school only.’ However, the study shows that the develop-ment of learners’ literacy skills in English language was lower than in Setswanain both urban and remote areas.

Blasé and Blasé (1999: 135) said instructional leaders should emphasize thestudy of teaching and learning as a strategy to promote teachers professionalgrowth. Therefore ‘staff development’ opportunity is a necessity that can getteachers to address their needs, which should culminate into improved learneracademic performance. While teachers report their active involvement in staffdevelopment, this is not consistent with learners’ academic performances inEnglish language.

The study revealed that 53 percent of the teachers said that learners wereneither open nor free with their teachers. A respondent in remote schoolcommented, ‘Pupils fear teachers and they are shy, they should be taught totake teachers as their parents.’ In a way, teaching methods have not helpedteacher-learners interaction to develop learners’ ability to freely relate withtheir teachers. On whether learners initiated projects or clubs in their schools,72 percent of the teachers indicated that learners in their schools did not. Datasuggests that little was being done in schools to develop independency andcreativity in learners in the schools. Teacher-centered methods are likely to bedominating in the classrooms especially in remote schools. This is so becauserepeated comments from respondents in remote schools suggested that pupilsin remote areas should be financed to take educational tours to towns and otherdevelopment centre to learn and experience new ideas. Remote areas schoolsdid not have adequate facilities and opportunities to engage in teaching througheducational excursions.

Learners’ Perceptions of Instructional Leadership Influence

The base-line survey that led to the PSMDP identified weaknesses in learners’interpersonal skills and self concept (Republic of Botswana—MoE, 2000). To testthe teachers’ instructional influence in the classroom, the study exploredlearners’ perceptions. In this way, the study gathered learners’ perceptionstowards the influence of instructional leadership on their learning. This wasconsidered necessary in order to measure the impact of the PSMDP.

The results suggest that learners have some positive perceptions of theirschool leadership. For example, 86 percent of the learners felt that their schoolheads visited them in their classrooms to see how they were doing. Themajority (83 percent) of learners indicated that they participated in making


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their class rules. Most learners (80 percent) indicated that they participated inchoosing their class monitors. Learners (98 percent) felt that they enjoyedcoming to school every day. They (93 percent) also reported that their classteachers helped them to do their schoolwork. As for reading materials, 72percent of the learners reported that they had required textbooks in their class-room. This is an indication that whilst most schools had adequate supply oftheir order, a few schools or classrooms experienced shortage of readingmaterials. This confirmed some teachers concern that they ran short ofteaching materials. Regarding usability of the textbooks, 98 percent of thelearners felt that they liked the textbook they had and were able to read in theirschools. These are good indicators of a successful picture in instructionalleadership from the learners’ voice.

Learners’ views also suggested some instructional management aspects thatSMTs and teachers needed to pay attention. For example data shows that 61percent of the learners felt that they were not given an opportunity to go outto interview people in the community. With regard to responsibility formorning assembly, 57 percent indicated that they did not participate inconducting or leading the assemblies in their schools. However, the majority(72 percent) of learners indicated that their class teachers punished themthrough the use of a cane during their teaching for failing to follow the teachers’instruction. The same learners indicated that they did not want to be beaten.

The results of the study show that some good instructional managementstrategies were used in schools because pupils were happy with some aspectsof school practices. It also shows that there were still other factors that neededteachers’ attention such as involving learners more in schools decision-makingforum. In their study Harcher and Hyle suggested that children have the abilityto exercise self-control and develop natural curiosity. Therefore learner-friendly school environment recognize the importance of involving them indecision-making activities. Schools play an essential role in nurturing children’ssocial development. Unfortunately, as reflected in the study, the learners’ voiceis not accommodated in the school instructional leadership systems. Learnersdo not accept the use of corporal punishment. Most schools do not make themfree independent decision makers. Teaching methods are teacher-centered.

Discussion

This section mitigates between findings and literature review and draws lessonslearnt from the study. In doing so, specific issues emerging from the study aresingled out. Such issues will be interpreted to inform the next section asconclusion and recommendations for consideration to improve both policy andpractice.

The study revealed that Botswana primary education sector is predominantlymade up of teachers who are above 31 years old. The majority of them trainedat certificate qualification and was more than 16 years of teaching. They did


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not have formal training on school leadership and management. Those in SMTslearnt about instructional leadership through the PSMDP.

While instructional leadership could mean different things to differentpeople, its functional definition has been accepted to imply school-basedleadership that focuses on helping teachers to do their work in the classroommore effectively (Blasé and Blasé, 1998; Glickman et al., 2001; McEwan, 1998;Seifert and Vornberg, 2002). It is against this understanding that the PSMDP wasincepted. The major purpose of the project, as an educational reform strategywas to enhance the quality of teaching and learning. Therefore all activities ofthe project tried to help SMTs to improve teacher quality through regularschool-based training.

On the basis of the results of the baseline study (Republic of Botswana—MoE,2000), the project intended to alter teachers’ beliefs and practices in order toassist them to develop new attitudes and acquire better skills for improvingtheir classroom instruction (Siduna, 2003). From the perspective of bothteachers and pupils, significant impact of the project is identifiable. Thereported outputs of the projects include regular classroom visits by SMTs, avail-ability of operational plans, adequacy of teaching materials and the humilitywith which SMTs apply themselves. In that way, instructional leadership is asuccessful school management innovation in Botswana.

Notwithstanding the positive development in schools, due to instructionalleadership as an innovation, there are issues of leadership function that requireattention. For example, while SMTs could be doing well in planning, super-vision and coordination on one hand, on the other, learner achievement is low,as it has been reported that over 80 percent of primary school leavers progressto secondary education before they acquire basic literacy skills in Englishlanguage. The issue of English language, which is a second or in some localitya third language, is beyond the control of the school leadership. Schools arecontrolled by an education policy that makes English an official language andthe medium of instruction in classroom. This policy is also influenced by therole that English language plays in the Botswana’s and global economies.However, instructional leadership needs to ensure school-based training of classteachers in the teaching of English as a second or third language depending onthe local situation. Another specific emerging issue is that teachers lack theability and confidence to initiate new teaching approaches in their classrooms.Instructional leadership that emphasizes school-based in-service programscould solve this problem.

On broader aspects, teachers’ experiences and perceptions vary in a lot ofways perhaps influenced by the location in which they teach. It shows thatteachers in some cases lack sensitivity to the situations of their learners andthe environment they work. This explains itself in the frequently reportedcases of corporal punishment that learners in both remote and urban schoolshave lamented to. The unpopularity of corporal punishment with children andits continuous use in schools, against the policy or official guidelines features


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in quite a number of studies in African countries (Akyeampong, 2003; Lefokaand Sebatane, 2003; Pryor and Ampiah, 2003). The same studies have found thatconditions of teachers especially in remote areas were not quite favorable andteachers in those areas ‘express disdain for rural situation and are at pains todifferentiate themselves from the village people’ (Pryor and Ampiah, 2003). Thisraises the issue of multi-cultural approach to school leadership training. Both theSMTs and the class teachers need better skills to handle the diverse culturalsocieties that they find themselves working with. Dachi and Garret (2003) haveestablished that education systems do not train teachers to accommodate theneeds of their learners. As such teachers are unable to conceptualize and makeuse of local experiences in their teaching. In the absence of cultural sensitiv-ity and lack of understanding of multicultural education approach, teachersapply the idea of sameness, for example treating learners in remote area towhom English is a third language the same as those learners in urban area whoare exposed to modern technologies such as computer and televisions, and tosome, whom English is a first or second language. Instructional leadershiptraining may have been devoid of the pedagogical emphasis and perhaps thecultural context. The combination of instructional, transformational and peda-gogical perspectives of leadership is becoming essential in this case.

In remote schools, methods of teaching are restricted to the school or class-room so much that outreach instructional activities are limited or neverplanned. This is an indication that teacher-centeredness is predominant inschools. Marginalization of parents from school instructional managementsystems is an issue especially in remote schools. Studies have revealed theimportance of parental involvement and consequences of failure to work withparents as well as ignorance of cultural contexts (Dunne, 2004; Hester, 1989;Lam, 2004; Liontos, 1992; Moore, 1991). In addition to the role of parents inlearner development, Harcher and Hyle (1996) emphasize that teachers needto provide a nurturing environment for learners and that teacher—learnerrelationship is critical in shaping the behavior of children. Instructional leader-ship has therefore a duty to create an enabling environment for parent—schoolrelationships and teacher—learner relationships.

Conclusion

The PSMDP was a capacity building strategy for the SMTs and teachers so thatin the final analysis, their habits, attitudes and practices were altered to some-thing professionally better for the enhancement and improvement of learners’level of achievement. The project has made significant impact in the primaryeducation management system. However, the study reveals that there is stillsome work to be done to improve instructional leadership for improved learner-achievement.

A primary or secondary school is a deliberately established young person’sdevelopment centre. Continuous professional development to improve


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leadership and personal qualities is therefore critical for those who lead schools.Given the apparent weaknesses in primary schools management and studentsperformances, it is recommended that MoE should develop an in-servicetraining program for SMTs and teachers on Instructional Leadership thatcombines transformational and pedagogical perspectives of leadership. Such aprogram should embrace professional and personal leadership concepts, skillsand practices. The program should aim at assisting the primary schools toimprove instructional supervision, processes of monitoring and evaluating ofteaching and learning activities for improved learners’ achievement.

Most teachers hold primary teaching certificate as their highest level oftraining. They lack school management and research skills. Drawing fromsome comments by teachers particularly in remote and rural schools aboutconditions in schools, it is clear that some teachers have given up or reignedthemselves into problems and conditions that exist in their schools. Against thisobservation, one fundamental aspect that the project needs to enhance is totrain both the SMTs and teachers in skills of carrying out action research at theirown levels so that they better understand and appreciate the situation better.Instructional leadership, which is not guided by research, may not address theactual problems. School-based and or classroom-based action research leads toevidence-based decision-making system that encourages practitioners to takeinto account local values and cultural experiences and use those to improveteachers’, learners’ and parents’ attitudes towards classroom work. Anotheradvantage for evidence-based approach is that it influences change in policysince all arguments are concrete and proven at practitioner level of delivery. Italso enhances teacher professional growth and development. It is thereforerecommended that MoE should come up with a policy that encourages school-based and classroom-based action research. This is necessary in order toempower both SMTs and teachers with skills that they could use to make betterpedagogical improvement decisions.

This study is not conclusive on the school improvement issues that requirefurther attention to improve school effectiveness and learner achievement. Itis recommended that MoE should engage in further research and consultancieson management of curriculum change, teaching of second languages, develop-ment of learner-friendly schools, strategies for parental mobilization, andtraining classroom teacher as transformational and pedagogical practitioners.Research on these areas would inform the education system on better waysto address innovations on school improvement and effective classroommanagement.

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank the anonymous referees for the helpful comments on my earlierdrafts. Any remaining errors are my own. I would also like to thank Mr S Basiamang(Director of Primary Education—Botswana) and his staff for administering thequestionnaires in schools, as well as teachers and learners who participated in thestudy.


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Biographical note

NKOBI OWEN PANSIRI is a lecturer in Educational Management in the Department ofPrimary Education at the University of Botswana. His diverse career in EducationManagement includes ten years as a teacher, seven years as a District EducationOfficer, and seven years as a Principal Education Officer heading Primary EducationInspectorate.

Correspondence to:

NKOBI OWEN PANSIRI, Department of Primary Education, University of Botswana, 4775Notwane Road, Gaborone, Botswana. [email: [email protected]]


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instructional leadership for quality learning

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